As is well known, two printed circuit boards can be electrically connected by an electrical connector assembly in which a male connector is fixed to one of the printed circuit boards and a female connector is fixed to the other printed circuit board. The female connector has a plurality of female terminals for receiving male pin terminals from the male connector. In an alternative arrangement, an electrical connector may be fixed to one of the printed circuit boards, and a connection edge of the other printed circuit board is inserted into a terminal slot in the fixed electrical connector.
One of the problems with electrical connector assemblies of the character described above is that the solder connections between the terminals and the circuit traces on either printed circuit board are constantly subjected to undue stresses. This can cause the terminals to deform, particularly in miniaturized high density connectors. The forces from the undue stresses actually can cause incomplete connections, even to the point of cracking or peeling-off the solder connections.
In an attempt to solve the problems discussed above, an electrical connector has been proposed in which the dielectric housing is a two-part structure and includes a first or stationary housing part and a second or movable housing part. The first or stationary housing part is fixed to a printed circuit board. The second housing part is movable relative to the fixed housing part and is adapted for receiving a male contact pin or the connection edge of a second printed circuit board. The two housing parts are interconnected by terminals which have flexible sections between contact ends and termination ends thereof to allow for the relative movement between the housing parts. The flexible sections of the terminals, thereby, absorb stresses placed on the housing parts which would otherwise cause deformation or damage to the terminals and/or the solder connections of the terminals to the printed circuit board(s). An example of a two-part housing having flexible terminals interconnecting the housing parts is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,235, dated May 12, 1992 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patent, the flexible sections of the terminals are generally U-shaped.
Although "compliant connectors" of the type shown in the above-referenced U.S. patent have been used satisfactory for many uses, there are applications where additional flexibility is required in an omni-directional context. The present invention is directed to satisfying this need and further solving the problems discussed above.